FURIA and FalleN continue to win, skullz's dream of playing in front of fans in Rio comes true

With victories over MOUZ and FaZe, FURIA is showing their best performance since the arrival of Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo. The team has once again reached the playoffs of the IEM Rio 2024 tournament, but this time with a new roster. Notably, Felipe "⁠skullz⁠" Medeiros is living his dream by playing in front of a home crowd.

"It means a lot to me," skullz confessed in an interview with HLTV. "It's like a dream come true — playing in front of an audience like this in Rio. I am eagerly awaiting the match in the arena."

READ MORE: FURIA qualifies for the IEM Rio 2024 playoffs, thus playing in their home arena

FURIA's Updated Approach

After a disappointing performance at the tournament in Cologne, FURIA revamped their training processes and overall gameplay. Skullz shared that the team focused on a more structured playstyle while maintaining freedom for individual actions, allowing them to better adapt to each other.

"We started playing more structured, but every player still has the opportunity to express themselves," skullz explained. "FalleN gives us freedom, and we've begun to adapt better to each other on the map."

Challenges and Achievements

In the tournament, FURIA secured confident victories over FaZe and MOUZ, significantly boosting their confidence. However, issues on the Mirage map remain a concern for the team. Skullz noted that they need to improve their coordination on this map to eliminate the weaknesses that opponents exploit.

Kaike "⁠KSCERATO⁠" Cerato played a special role in the team's success by demonstrating high performance. Skullz mentioned that KSCERATO is at the peak of his game, and the team is doing everything to support him.

READ MORE: Vitality, The Mongolz, Astralis, and Heroic advanced to the upper semifinals of Group B at IEM Rio 2024

Aiming for Victory

Despite the opportunity to go straight to the semifinals, FURIA's main goal is to win the tournament. Skullz emphasized that the team is focused on the trophy, not just intermediate achievements. "Semifinals are nice, but I aim to win the tournament. We will do everything possible to lift that trophy," he declared.

FURIA's next opponent will be Natus Vincere in the playoff seeding match, with the winner advancing to the semifinals and the loser to the quarterfinals.

Source: HLTV